Reds Recap: Mets hand Reds third straight loss

Cincinnati Reds' Scott Schebler hits a sacrifice fly scoring Scooter Gennett as New York Mets catcher Kevin Plawecki, left, looks on during the second inning of a baseball game Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017, in New York.(Photo: Bill Kostroun, AP)

NEW YORK – The Cincinnati Reds dropped their third game in a row, falling 6-1 to the New York Mets on Saturday at Citi Field. Here are the main storylines.

Homer Bailey was solid until the seventh. The veteran right-hander faced the minimum in three of the first six innings he pitched, but the Mets were able to tag him for a couple of big hits in the second and sixth. In the second, Brandon Nimmo coaxed a two-out walk and catcher Kevin Plawecki launched just his second homer of the season to give New York a 2-1 lead.

The Mets didn’t cash in again until the sixth. Asdrubal Cabrera started with a leadoff double, and moved to third on a groundout. He eventually scored on a single by Dominic Smith to extend the gap to two runs.

Bailey was above 90 pitches after the sixth, but Reds manager Bryan Price brought him back out for the seventh to face the Mets’ 8-9-1 hitters. Bailey hit eight-hole hitter Matt Reynolds on the hand to put the first batter aboard. Then the Mets pinch-hit projected Sunday starter Jacob DeGrom, who attempted to lay down a sacrifice bunt. Bailey walked him.

"I was trying to get the guy bunting to pop it up," Bailey said. "I kind of rushed it a little bit, trying to cover the bunt and stuff like that. It's those little things that will beat you."

That was it for the righty, as he was replaced by Michael Lorenzen. He allowed six hits and three walks while striking out five.

The Mets piled on against Lorenzen. Lorenzen has been trying to finish strong on what’s been a step back season compared to his 2016 campaign, but Saturday’s outing didn’t help that cause. Inheriting two runners, Lorenzen gave up two hits, allowing Bailey’s two runs to score as well as one of his own.

Lorenzen started by making a nice play on a well-placed sacrifice bunt from Jose Reyes that moved both runners into scoring position. But then both runners scored on a Nori Aoki single up the middle, and Aoki took second when center fielder Scott Schebler threw home instead of to second. Aoki then scored on a Cabrera double hit over Schebler’s head in deep center.

Schebler made a diving catch on a Nimmo liner to stop the bleeding, and second baseman Scooter Gennett made a nice over-the-shoulder catch on a pop out to end the inning.

The Reds had RISP problems. The Reds scored in their first real opportunity, with Gennett starting the second with a single, moving up on a walk, taking third on a passed ball and scoring on a sacrifice fly. Then, nothing.

They had plenty of chances, though. The Reds finished the second with runners stranded on first and second, and left two on in the third as well. In the fourth, they again left two in scoring position. Between the second and fifth, they left eight runners on base.

"We've been shut out a handful of times (recently), and had several one- and two-run games that we've lost," Price said. "Sometimes we hit on all cylinders."